


The Whisper in the Silence

by ThereIsNoTragedyInThat



Series: The Space Between the First and Last Breath [22]
Category: The Old Guard (Movie 2020)
Genre: Fluff, Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani and Nicky | Nicolò di Genova are in Love, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Post-Canon, Prompt Fill, Short & Sweet, Soft Nicky | Nicolò di Genova
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-09
Updated: 2021-01-09
Packaged: 2021-03-13 10:28:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,081
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28652028
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThereIsNoTragedyInThat/pseuds/ThereIsNoTragedyInThat
Summary: Nicky watched as the frost slowly crawled across the edges of the small window, the sight serving as a reminder that tonight was going to be cold, frigid even. This weather was not typical here, not this early in the season…or at least he didn’t recall it from the last time they’d been in Canada. He supposed the fault had to lie with them a little bit, their paranoia making them opt out of a cabin with central heating and go with a classic fireplace instead.
Relationships: Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani/Nicky | Nicolò di Genova
Series: The Space Between the First and Last Breath [22]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1947598
Comments: 1
Kudos: 80





	The Whisper in the Silence

**Author's Note:**

> From the intimacy prompt list: Palm kiss

Nicky watched as the frost slowly crawled across the edges of the small window, the sight serving as a reminder that tonight was going to be cold, frigid even. This weather was not typical here, not this early in the season…or at least he didn’t recall it from the last time they’d been in Canada. He supposed the fault had to lie with them a little bit, their paranoia making them opt out of a cabin with central heating and go with a classic fireplace instead.

That would certainly explain the look on the woman they’d rented it from.

A shiver worked its way through Nicolò’s body, prompting him to tuck the thick quilt more tightly around him, fingers fussing with it, while Joe tended to the fire. He’d managed to stoke it high, the pile of firewood in the corner missing only a few logs and its heat was already beginning to thaw out the main room.

They would be sleeping here tonight, squished against one another on the creaky old couch. Still, they’d found rest in far worse places and Nicolò was not the type to complain. Joe on the other hand, his entire expression had scrunched into one of displeasure and only Nicky’s quiet reminder that it would only be a couple days seem to settle him.

“I’ll have to get more firewood in the morning,” Joe sighed, warming his hands in the fire, rings glistening in the dancing flames. “I wonder where they keep the axe.”

“No need, there is extra in the small shed out back.”

Joe glanced at him over his shoulder, eyebrow raised.

“You’ve been terribly absentminded lately, Joe,” he offered gently. “The woman at the desk said they keep some in the shed and if it gets too cold, we can upgrade to one of the empty cabins for free.” 

Running a hand through his hair and very pointedly ignoring Nicky’s comment, he stood and made his way over to the couch, “might I share your warmth Nicolò?”

His teasing tone was appreciated, if only because he’d been watching Joe closely these past few weeks and it was obvious, he was struggling. It was alright, they all were trying to find their footing since London, since Andy, and Nile, and Booker. Furrowing his brows, Nicky patted the blanket, “hmm, I suppose, if you must.”

The little smile it earned him was worth the cool air rushing in as they lifted the quilt and Joe slipped in against him. Another shiver racked his body despite himself and he could feel Joe’s eyes on him, watching him with the same intensity that hadn’t left his gaze since they escaped Merrick’s lab.

They weren’t traumatized, was the thing.

He and Joe had experienced far worse fates then the painful prod of needles and sharp sting of knives…even the acidic burn of the medicinal liquids pumped into their veins were hardly new. The doctor had been curious, astute but utterly detached from them as being human beings and Nicky would be lying if he said he didn’t prefer that to the vitriol and hatred he’d experienced from his torturers in the past.

No, Joe’s reliance on him, his _clinginess_ was born from an entirely different emotion, one that made Nicky’s heart ache fiercely for the other man. He has found, much to his distaste, that many words have fallen out of style in the new world, their meaning lost to tales and myths as though they could never be recaptured in the modern human.

Loyalty was one of them. Honor and duty were others, lost to rhetoric meant to inspire a feeling but rarely an action, not something to be lived, rather something to be used as a weapon against the masses. Joe, Nicky knows, values loyalty above most things, would forsake honor and duty in the name of his family, would forsake morality though it would tear him to pieces, if it meant keeping their family intact…but such emotion, such devotion must be returned in measure.

They lost Booker.

They lost their brother.

They lost their best friend.

Nicky knows that Joe cannot seem to reconcile such a loss with the trust that was broken in the midst of it, knows the intensity of his eyes and his constant presence at his side come from his confusion and uncertainty of who he can trust now.

Joe can always trust him.

“Nicolò?”

He was knocked from his head abruptly by the sensation of fingers brushing gently along his wrist, his forearm, the tone of Joe’s voice making it clear he’d been called more than once. Grimacing, he opened his mouth to apologize but Joe was smiling softly, his expression gentle, silencing him as firmly as shout.

“You’re cold love.”

Nicky shrugged, watched as Joe’s hand moved lower until he could cup his hand in his own, bringing it up, up, up and pressing a delicate kiss to the skin of his palm. The scratch of his beard and the ghostly sensation of his breath were all familiar, something he has felt a million times before and will feel a million times more…still it made his stomach flutter and his heart skip a beat.

Joe looked at him with knowing eyes, pressing another kiss on his lifeline, on each finger, “is that better?”

Nicky hummed, “si, thank you amore mio.”

“You’re back with me now?”

He could feel the blush on his cheeks though his voice was soothing, not accusing, “yes Joe, sorry.”

“It’s alright,” he reassured, slipping his fingers between Nicky’s own. “So long as you always come back to me. It is far too quiet for you to hide away in your head all night my dear.”

“I didn’t mean to.”

“I know,” he raised his free hand to brush back a strand of hair. “What were you thinking about?”

There was a certain tranquility here, tucked away in a forest, the privacy of the cabin and only the soft crackling of the fire around them, a peace that Nicky was loath to shatter with words that would not help either of them.

“Nothing of importance.”

The look in Joe’s eyes told him he was not believed but it did not matter, not when he just nodded and pressed closer, their bodies slowly intertwining as they had for centuries, fitting together like puzzle pieces that were never meant to be parted.

“I love you,” Joe murmured, squeezing his hand.

“And I you.”


End file.
